Method for a variable rebate tier structure for card transactions

ABSTRACT

There is provided a method for determining a rebate for a card account based on the amount of a card member&#39;s expenditures, the spending category, and on the account&#39;s revolve status during a billing period. The variable rebate method provides tiered rebate levels for card member purchases where the rebate rates vary and increase in conjunction with the level of card member purchases. A method of determining a rebate comprises determining a spending category of at least one of a plurality of transactions, determining an amount of transaction expenditures for said plurality of transactions, determining whether a card account associated with said plurality of transactions is in revolve status, selecting at least one rebate rate corresponding to said revolve status, spending category and amount of transaction expenditures, and calculating at least one rebate for at least one spending category using said at least one rebate rate. Further, a rebate may calculated for a plurality of billing periods as well as a final rebate via the aggregation of the rebates for the plurality of billing periods.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/416,659 filed on Oct. 7, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of consumer spendingincentive programs based on purchases transacted using a card andincludes rebates, cash rewards, cash refunds and incentives. Moreparticularly, there is provided a method for providing a tiered rebatestructure for card member purchases or transactions based on theyear-to-date accumulated spending level for a card account, the type ofcard transaction carried out in a billing period, and the revolve statusof the card account in that same billing period.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Providing rebates or cash rewards to a card member as an incentive touse a particular transaction card is well known. Rebate programs arealso intended to engender loyalty from card members to the card issuer,especially if the card issuer offers an attractive rebate rate for cardmember purchases. Numerous institutions offer and issue cards thatprovide this added feature and benefit to card members for purchasesapplicable to their card account. Cards that have associated cash rebaterewards typically include credit cards, smart cards, charge cards, debitcards, rebate cards and other transaction, purchase, and financialcards. Additionally, rebate programs are typically automated andimplemented on computerized data processing systems belonging to cardissuing institutions or other designated entities that provide andoperate a rebate programs for the card issuing institution.

In common rebate methods used in the credit card industry, a card memberis awarded a rebate, award, bonus or cash reward that is calculatedbased on a predetermined percentage of the total amount of purchases orexpenditures carried out by the card member using a transaction cardsuch as a credit card. The incentive provided to the card user or membercan be described using various terms including bonus, reward, giveback,return, refund, award or cash back. Typically, the rebate is a fixedpercentage of all the total yearly expenditures on the credit cardaccount and does not vary depending on the amount of yearly card memberexpenditures. Thus, the rebate amount is calculated using the samerebate rate whether the card member spends $1000 or $10,000 in one year.Further, the rebate or reward due the card member is typically onlycalculated once during a fixed period, e.g. at the end of the calendaryear, fiscal year or other period, such as a card membership anniversarydate. The calculated rebate is then paid or credited by the institutionor card issuer to the card holder.

One drawback of this type of rebate program is that there is only onerebate rate applicable to all card purchases. The applicable rebaterate, and thus the calculated rebate amount, does not depend on the typeof purchase transaction conducted by the card member. For example, cardpurchases and transactions can be designated or classified, among otherspurchase categories, as “everyday spend” purchases or “non-everydayspend” purchases. An “everyday spend” purchase or transaction typicallyincludes purchases at stand-alone supermarkets, gas stations, drugstoresand home improvement stores. A “non-everyday spend” is any other type ofpurchase. These classifications or types of spending as well as othersare well known to those of skill in the art.

Card member spending habits and patterns typically vary and are oftenvery diverse. Some card members conduct both “everyday spend” and“non-everyday spend” purchases in generally equal proportions throughouta year or billing period. While others have either “everyday spend” or“non-everyday” purchases as a majority of their purchases ortransaction. Still others may conduct purchases or transactions thatcould fall in to other classes or categories, for example, retail ornon-retail spending, travel and entertainment or non-travel andentertainment, etc. Under a typical rebate program, the type of spendingpattern is not taken in to account. Thus, card members cannot and do notrealize a benefit for and there is no incentive for making one type ofpurchase or transaction over another since there is no distinction madein the rebate rates between the type, class or category of purchases ortransaction in calculating the overall rebate amount.

Other rebate programs award rebates or rewards to card members basedupon the amount of debt that a card member revolves on their cardaccount from one billing period to the next. Typically, the card membermust carry or revolve a specific debt amount on the account to beeligible for a certain rebate or for higher rebate rate. If the cardmember does not revolve the specified or minimum amount from one billingperiod to the next, no rebate is given for purchases or a lower orreduced rebate rate is applied to purchases. This approach has drawbacksthat are detrimental to the card members. In order be eligible for ahigher rebate, the card member must typically carry a largepredetermined or specific amount of debt on their card account. This canlead to a dilemma if the card member desires to receive rebates forpurchases but prefers to carrying very little or no debt. The cardholder must incur more debt to received higher rebate rates. In thatregard, this aspect of the program could be a disincentive for cardmembers to use that particular card for purchases.

Other existing rebate programs can include a rebate tier structure butdo not provide a cash back bonus based on the revolve status of a cardmember account. Additionally, existing rebate programs typically do notclassify the types of transactions being conducted by card members.There is thus a need for a rebate method that provides variable ortiered rebate levels for card member purchases where applicable rebaterates increase in conjunction with the amount level of yearly purchasesmade by a card member and that additionally distinguishes between thetype, class or category of purchases or transactions made by the cardmember and that provides corresponding rebate levels based on the typeof transactions carried out during the year or during a billing period.There is also a need for a rebate method that rewards card members forbeing in a revolve status from one billing period to the nextirrespective of the actual amount that is revolved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for determining a rebate orreward using a variable rebate tier structure for card transactions fora card member's account based on the amount of a card member'sexpenditures, the type, category or class of purchase or transaction,and on a card member's revolve status during a billing period.

The variable rebate method provides tiered rebate levels for card memberpurchases where the rebate rates vary and increase in conjunction withthe level of purchase made by a card member and purchase or transactiondates. There is provided a rebate method that takes into account thetype, class or category of transactions or purchases made by the cardmember and applies differing rebate levels based on the category anddate of the purchases or transactions carried out during a billingperiod. The rebate method also rewards card members additional rebatesand rewards when a card member's account is in revolve status from onebilling period to the next independent of the actual amount that isrevolved.

There is provided a method of determining a rebate comprising the stepsof: a) determining a spending category of at least one of a plurality oftransactions; b) determining an amount of transaction expenditures andtransaction dates for the plurality of transactions; c) determiningwhether a card account associated with the plurality of transactions isin revolve status; d) selecting at least one rebate rate correspondingto the revolve status, spending category, and amount and date oftransaction expenditures; and e) calculating at least one rebate for atleast one spending category using the at least one rebate rate. Inanother embodiment of the method of determining a rebate furthercomprises the step of calculating at least one rebate for a plurality ofbilling periods and calculating a final rebate via the addition of theat least one rebate for the plurality of billing periods. Additionally,the calculated rebate can be either a revolve rebate or a spendingcategory rebate.

There is also provided a method of determining a rebate comprising thesteps of: a) storing a plurality of transactions occurring in a billingperiod including corresponding transaction dates; b) classifying each ofsaid transactions as an “everyday spend” transaction or a “non-everydayspend” transaction; c) determining and storing an “everyday spend”transaction total, a “non-everyday spend” transaction total and ayear-to-date transaction total upon completion of said billing period;d) determining a rebate tier structure corresponding to saidyear-to-date transaction total; e) calculating an “everyday rebate”amount using a first rebate rate corresponding to said determined rebatetier structure; f) calculating a “non-everyday rebate” amount using asecond rebate rate corresponding to said determined rebate tierstructure; g) determining whether a card account associated with saidplurality of transactions is in revolve status; h) calculating a revolve“everyday rebate” amount using a first revolve rebate rate correspondingto said determined rebate tier structure and said “everyday spend”transaction total if said card account is in revolve status; i)calculating a revolve “non-everyday rebate” amount using a secondrevolve rebate rate corresponding to said determined rebate tierstructure tier and said “non-everyday spend” transaction total if saidcard account is in revolve status; j) storing, for each of a pluralityof billing periods, said “everyday rebate” amount, said “non-everydayrebate” amount, said revolve “everyday rebate” amount, and said revolve“non-everyday rebate” amount if said billing period just ended does notcorrespond to a final rebate calculation period; and k) calculating afinal rebate amount for said card account by adding, for each of saidplurality of billing periods, said “everyday rebate” amount, said“non-everyday rebate” amount, said revolve “everyday rebate” amount, andsaid revolve “non-everyday rebate” amount if said billing period justended corresponds to said final rebate calculation period.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatrewards a card member additional rebate rewards for carrying a balanceon their card account, i.e., if the card account is in revolve status.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatrewards a card member for their purchase behavior.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatrewards a card member for revolve behavior.

It is an object of the present invention to provide card members arebate method that allows them to earn rebate rewards faster by spendingin “everyday spend” locations.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatgives card members an increased rebate reward for using their card in“everyday spend” transactions when the card account is in revolvestatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatgives card members an increased rebate reward for using their card in“non-everyday spend” transactions when the card account is in revolvestatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatprovides card members with increased rebate rates or levels thatcorrespond to increased levels or tiers for card member purchases andtransactions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatprovides card members with selective rebate rates or levelscorresponding to levels or tiers for card member purchases andtransactions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatprovides card members with selective rebate rates or levelscorresponding to the type, class or category of card member purchasesand/or transactions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatprovides card members with selective rebate rates or levelscorresponding to the revolve status of a card member.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatrewards a card member additional rebate rewards for carrying a balanceon a card account, i.e., if the card account is in revolve status, wherethe card account is associated with a transaction card, a financialcard, a credit card, a charge card, a debit card, a smart card, digitalcard, a bank card, a commerce card, or an electronic transaction card.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method fordetermining a rebate for a plurality of billing periods where a billingperiod can be a week, a month, a fiscal year, or a calendar year.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method fordetermining a final rebate via the addition of a plurality of calculatedrebates corresponding to a plurality of billing periods where the finalrebate can be calculated annually, semi-annually, at the end of a fiscalyear, at the end of a calendar year, or on the anniversary date of acard account.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method fordetermining a rebate using a rebate tier structure that is comprises ofa plurality of card account spending tiers and corresponding rebaterates for the spending tiers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rebate method thatgives card members selective or increased rebate rewards for using theircard on retail, non-retail, wholesale, non-wholesale, travel,non-travel, entertainment, non-entertainment transactions when the cardaccount is in revolve status.

The following drawings and description set forth additional advantagesand benefits of the invention. More advantages and benefits will beobvious from the description and may be learned by practice of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood when read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B depict a flow diagram for a method for determining arebate for a customer according to an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 2 depicts a table illustrating an embodiment of a rebate tierstructure having three spending levels and a rebate bonus rate parameterwith corresponding rebate rates that could be used in the method shownin FIGS. 1A and 1B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an embodiment of a variable rebate method 100for determining a rebate as an incentive or reward to card members touse their cards for their purchases and transactions. The rebatecalculation or determination for a card account can be carried out atany point in time, but is typically done at the end of a billing period,at the end of each of a plurality of billing periods, at the end of theyear or any other periodic interval chosen by a card issuer. In oneembodiment, a rebate calculation is carried out on the anniversary dateof a card member's account. The calculated rebate amount, and the rebaterates used to calculate the account rebate can vary depending on theamount of purchase transactions carried out by a card member during theyear or a predetermined billing period, the type, class or category ofthe transaction or purchase, e.g., an “everyday spend” or “non-everydayspend” transaction, and whether there is a revolving balance on the cardmember's account, i.e., whether or not a customer carries an accountbalance from a current billing period to a subsequent billing period.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B can be carried out orimplemented on a computerized system running and executing appropriateapplication programs related to rebate reward programs and applicationsas are well known to those of skill in the art. For example, a rebatereward program could be implemented by a system (not shown) comprising acard member card or transaction card, a card reader, memory storage, anda transaction computer or processor with access to a card memberinformation database and an associated card member account. Those ofskill in the art will readily recognize that such a system and othersimilar computerized and non-computerized systems could be used toimplement the rebate method embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.Further, the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1 b for determininga rebate can be used with rebate programs associated with a variety oftransaction cards. Those of skill in the art will readily recognize thatthis can include among others, financial cards, credit cards, a chargecards, debit cards, smart cards, digital cards, bank or banking cards,commerce cards, or other electronic transaction cards.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A and 1B, there is shown the steps to carryout a preferred embodiment of the variable rebate method 100 inaccordance with the present invention. In step 5, all transactionsduring a billing period, e.g. during a current month, are recorded andstored. In step 10, each user purchase or transaction is classified oridentified with a spending category 13 as either an “everyday spend” 14or “non-everyday spend” 15 transaction. Further, in step 10, thetransaction date 16 is also recorded for each transaction.

In step 10 of the preferred embodiment, the transactions are categorizedas either an “everyday spend” 14 or “non-everyday spend” 15 transaction.However, the category can be any category defined, selected or chosen bya card issuer or operator of the rebate program or method. Further, thetransactions are broken down into two categories. Those of skill in theart will readily recognize that the number of categories could beselected to be more or less than simply two categories. Further, theactual categories could be selected or defined to be something inaddition to and/or other than an “everyday spend” 14 or “non-everydayspend” 15 transaction. For example, the categories could be selected ordefined to be transactions such as non-retail, wholesale, non-wholesale,travel, non-travel, entertainment, non-entertainment, internet or web,non-internet or non-web, online, offline, etc., among others as definedby the card issuer or program administrator. Further, the number ofcategories could be any number or combination of transaction categories.Thus, although the preferred embodiment is discussed with respect to afirst and second type or category of transactions, an “everyday spend”14 or “non-everyday spend” 15, respectively, those of skill in the artthat more or less categories could be defined or used in the preferredmethod.

In step 20, a determination is made as to whether the end of the billingperiod has been reached, for example, the end or beginning of a month orsome other selected date. Those of skill in the art will recognize thata card issuing institution could set the end of the billing period asdesired. If the billing period has not ended, then the transaction type13 and date 16 for card member purchases continue to be recorded in thecurrent billing period as noted in steps 5 and 10.

In step 30, upon the completion of the current billing period, the“everyday spend” purchase total 32, the “non-everyday spend” purchasetotal 34, and the year-to-date running total 36 of all purchases ortransaction expenditure made by a card member are calculated and stored.The “everyday spend” purchase total 32 is determined by adding each“everyday spend” transaction 14 for the current billing period justended using the recorded transaction date 16. The “non-everyday spend”purchase total 34 is determined by adding each “non-everyday spend”transaction 15 for the current billing period just ended using therecorded transaction date 16. The year-to-date running total 36 isdetermined by adding all purchases and transactions made by a cardmember during the year up to and including transactions in the currentbilling period that just closed.

In step 40, the appropriate purchase level or tier 42 for the cardmember account is determined. Preferably, there is a rebate tierstructure (shown in FIG. 2) with a plurality of predetermined tiers orlevels with corresponding rebate reward levels in which a card memberaccount may fall into. The card member account level or tier 42 isdetermined by comparing the year-to-date running total 36, found in step30, and comparing it against the predetermined or pre-defined tiers orlevels 210, 215 and 220 of the rebate tier structure (shown in FIG. 2).

FIG. 2 shows that in this embodiment, there are three overall or totalannual purchase spending levels or tiers 210, 215 and 220 withcorresponding “everyday spend” or “non-everyday spend” rebate rates ortiers 230 and 235 in the rebate tier structure. Those of skill in theart will recognize that the total annual purchase parameters 210, 215,and 220, and the associated “everyday spend” or “non-everyday spend”rebate rate parameters 230 and 235 can be selected by an institution asdesired to fit their particular rebate programs. In the embodiment shownin FIG. 2, there are shown three levels or tiers 210, 215 and 220,though more or less levels could have been used.

The first level 210 preferably comprises total annual purchases in arange of $0 through $2,000. The corresponding “everyday spend” rebaterate parameter 235 is preferably 0.5%. The corresponding “non-everydayspend” rebate rate parameter 230 is preferably 0.25%. The second level215 preferably comprises total annual purchases in the preferred rangeof $2,001 through $6,000. The corresponding “everyday spend” rebate rateparameter 235 is preferably 1.0%. The corresponding “non-everyday spend”rebate rate parameter 230 is preferably 0.5%. The third level 220preferably comprises total annual purchases in the preferred range of$6,001 and greater. The corresponding “everyday spend” rebate rateparameter 235 is preferably 3.0%. The corresponding “non-everyday spend”rebate rate parameter 230 is preferably 1.5%. Again, these ranges areonly preferred ranges and may change to suit the needs of theinstitution awarding the rebates. There is also shown, that in thisembodiment, the maximum total annual purchases or spend 222 for whichrebates will be calculated is $50,000. Again, this parameter 222 may bechanged as desired by an institution.

The rebate tier structure shown in FIG. 2 further illustrated asupplemental revolve rebate bonus rate parameter 225 that, in theembodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, could be used in determining asupplemental revolve rebate bonus when a card member's account is in“revolve status”. There are preferably two revolve rebate bonus rates, afirst and second revolve rebate rate 245 and 240, that respectively canbe used to calculate revolve rebates for the “everyday spend” purchasetotals 32 and “non-everyday spend” purchase total 34 for the currentmonth just ended. Again, though certain revolve or bonus rates arelisted, i.e., 0.5% and 2.0%, other revolve rebate rates could be used asdesired by an institution. Moreover, unlike the “everyday spend” rebaterates 235 and the “non-everyday spend” rebate rates 230 which correspondto a total annual purchase tier or level 210, 215 and 220, thesupplemental revolve or bonus rebate rates come into play preferablywhen the card member's account is in revolve status, or some otherparameter is met, as discussed below with respect to step 70. That is,the revolve rebate rates 240 and 245 preferably correspond or areapplicable when a card members' account is in revolve status for acurrent month that just ended.

In step 50, once the appropriate purchase level or tier 42 of the rebatetier structure 200 has been determined upon the completion of thecurrent billing period, the corresponding and applicable rebate rates230 and 235 can be used to determined any rebates that may due to a cardmember account. The rebates due for the “everyday spend” 14 and“non-everyday spend” 15 transactions or purchases made in the justcompleted billing period are determined using the transaction dates andthe rebate rates 230 and 235 that correspond to the appropriate purchaselevel 42, 210, 215 and 220.

In step 60, for the stored “everyday spend” purchase total 32 for thecurrent month just ended, the “everyday rebate” amount 62 is calculatedby using the corresponding stored transaction dates and applicable“everyday spend” rebate rate or factor 235 that corresponds to theappropriate purchase level 42, determined in step 40. Additionally, forthe stored “non-everyday spend” purchase total 34 for the current monthjust ended, the “non-everyday rebate” amount 64 is calculated by usingthe corresponding stored transaction dates and applicable “everydayspend” rebate rate or factor 230 that corresponds to the appropriatepurchase level 42. Step “A” in FIGS. 1A and 1B preferably shows thecontinuation of the process from FIG. 1A to FIG. 1B withoutinterruption.

In step 70, shown in FIG. 1B, upon receipt of payment from a card memberafter the current billing period has ended, a determination is made asto whether the card member account is in “revolve status”. If the cardmember paid off his entire account balance for the current billingperiod just ended, then the card member's account is not in revolvestatus. If the account is not in revolve status for the current monthjust ended, no revolve or bonus rebates will be awarded to this cardmember account for the current month just ended. In this scenario, theprocess would skip step 80 and proceed to step 90.

The process continues to Step 80 when the card account is in revolvestatus after the just ended current billing period. In step 80, for thestored “everyday spend” purchase total 32 for the current month justended, a supplemental or revolve “everyday rebate” amount 82 iscalculated by using a “everyday spend” revolve or bonus rebate bonusrate 245 (shown in FIG. 2). Additionally, for the stored “non-everydayspend” purchase total 34 for the current month just ended, asupplemental or revolve “non-everyday rebate” amount 84 is calculated byusing the a “non-everyday spend” revolver or bonus rebate rate 240(shown in FIG. 2).

In step 90, a determination is made as to whether the current billingperiod just ended corresponds to a final rebate calculation period, suchas the end the year or card account anniversary date. The final rebatecalculation period could be an annual or a semi-annual time period, theend of a fiscal year, the end of a calendar year, the anniversary datefor a card account or any other designated period selected by the cardissuer or rebate program administrator.

In step 95, if the current billing just ended is not the final rebatecalculation period such as the end of the year, the “everyday rebate”amount 62, the “non-everyday rebate” amount 64, the supplemental“everyday rebate” amount 82, the supplemental “non-everyday rebate”amount 84, and update the year-to-date running total 36 of alltransaction or purchase expenditures made by a card member during theyear, including all purchases made in the current billing period justended, are stored. The process 100 then preferably proceeds to Step 107which indicates that the process should now proceed to Step 5 and repeatSteps 5 through 90 for the next or subsequent billing period. Thesesteps can repeat for a plurality of billing periods until a currentbilling period corresponds to the final rebate calculation period. Thoseof skill in the art will recognize that a billing period could be aweek, a month, six months, a yearn annual, fiscal year, a calendar yearor any other designated period selected by the card issuer or rebateprogram administrator.

In step 110, if the current billing period just ended is the finalrebate calculation period, e.g., the end of the year, the final year endtotal rebate or final rebate amount due to the card member isdetermined. The final year end total rebate is calculated by adding the“everyday rebate” amount 62, “non-everyday rebate” amount 64,supplemental “everyday rebate” amount 82, and supplemental “non-everydayrebate” amount 84 previously calculated and stored for each billingperiod recorded prior to the final rebate calculation period.

In step 115, the calculated final year end total rebate can be generatedand applied or sent to the card member for the year just completed. Theprocess 100 can now proceed to step 120 which indicates that the processcan proceed to step 5 to begin calculation and storage for a next rebatecalculation period such as the next or subsequent year.

The invention has been described and illustrated with respect to certainpreferred embodiments by way of example only. Those skilled in that artwill readily recognize that the preferred embodiments may be altered oramended without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specificdetails, representative devices, and illustrated examples in thisdescription. The present invention is limited only by the followingclaims and equivalents.

1-35. (cancelled).
 36. A method for redeeming a rebate for an accountcomprising the steps of: determining a transaction category from aplurality of transaction categories for each of a plurality oftransactions; determining a total transaction expenditure amount foreach of said plurality of transaction categories and a total transactionexpenditure amount for all transactions related to the account;selecting a rebate rate from a plurality of tiered rebate rates for eachof said plurality of transaction categories based on one or more of saidtotal transaction expenditure amounts; and calculating a rebate usingsaid selected rebate rate for each of said plurality of transactioncategories and one or more of total transaction expenditure amounts; andproviding the rebate at a final rebate calculation period.
 37. Themethod of claim 36 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the anniversary of the inception of the account.
 38. Themethod of claim 36 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the accumulation of a predetermined rebate amount total.39. The method of claim 36 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the accumulation of a rebate amount total equal to orgreater than $25.
 40. The method of claim 36 wherein said plurality oftransaction categories includes an internet purchases category.
 41. Amethod for determining a rebate for an account comprising the steps of:determining a transaction category from a plurality of transactioncategories for each of a plurality of transactions; determining a totaltransaction expenditure amount for each of said plurality of transactioncategories; determining whether the account is in revolve status;selecting a rebate rate from a plurality of rebate rates for each ofsaid transaction categories based upon whether the account is in revolvestatus; and calculating a rebate using said selected rebate rates; andproviding the rebate at a final rebate calculation period.
 42. Themethod of claim 41 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the anniversary of the inception of the account.
 43. Themethod of claim 41 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the accumulation of a predetermined rebate amount total.44. The method of claim 41 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the accumulation of a rebate amount total equal to orgreater than $25.
 45. The method of claim 41 wherein said account is inrevolve status when the monthly revolve balance is $500 or more.
 46. Amethod for determining a rebate for an account comprising the steps of:determining a transaction category from a plurality of transactioncategories for each of a plurality of transactions; determining a totaltransaction expenditure amount for each of said plurality of transactioncategories and a total transaction expenditure amount for alltransactions related to the account; determining whether the account isin revolve status; selecting a rebate rate from a plurality of tieredrebate rates for each of said transaction categories based on one oremore of said total transaction expenditure amounts and whether theaccount is in revolve status; calculating a rebate using said selectedrebate rates; and providing the rebate at a final rebate calculationperiod.
 47. The method of claim 46 wherein said final rebate calculationperiod corresponds to the anniversary of the inception of the account.48. The method of claim 46 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the accumulation of a predetermined rebate amount total.49. The method of claim 46 wherein said final rebate calculation periodcorresponds to the accumulation of a rebate amount total equal to orgreater than $25.
 50. The method of claim 46 wherein said account is inrevolve status when the monthly revolve balance is $500 or more.